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White Sox won't change approach

White Sox won't change approach

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Most game reports will show Tadahito Iguchi and his three-run home run or closer Bobby Jenks and his two innings of one-hit relief as the heroes of Wednesday's 5-4 victory over Boston during Game 2 of the Division Series in Chicago. But it was Aaron Rowand's double in the fifth that scored Carl Everett with the first run off David Wells, starting the White Sox in the right direction for a five-run inning.

Following the dramatic victory, Rowand talks about the exciting feeling of the game's final few outs, the trip to Fenway and sympathy for a close friend and old teammate.

That ninth inning tonight was just outstanding. I mean ...

I can't really put it into words. It was one of those moments where you go out and take a deep breath and just read the ball off the bat. That's it.

Even with the 2-0 series lead, guys aren't going to change the way we go about our game out there in Boston. This is a group of guys who played a lot of games like the one we played tonight during the course of the season. We are just going to try to get on the same wavelength as we were tonight.

It will be the same sort of crowd as it is for every game at Fenway Park, only a little more electric. That's one of the few places that during the season, it's a playoff atmosphere going in there every time.

For someone who hasn't played out there in that Fenway Park outfield, it's difficult. But for Scottie [Podsednik] and myself and Jermaine [Dye], who all have played there before, we have a good understanding of the angles of the wall. It's definitely advantageous to have been there before.

I've played at Fenway for five years and Jermaine has been in the league a long time. Scottie has it the toughest, but he's a great outfielder.

It takes a year or two to adjust to it, especially when you are only playing three games per season there. You really have to understand where the ball is going to bounce, whether it's the Monster or triangle in right-center, the short porch in right or the wall jutting straight out down the right-field line.

Tonight, I definitely feel badly for Tony [Graffanino]. He's a great guy. It's one of those things where you wish it would have happened to someone you didn't like. But it was not a routine ground ball.

Juan [Uribe] cued a ground ball. It might have looked routine from the pressbox but that ball had some spin on it and it stayed down when he thought it was going to bounce up. So it was a tough play. If you ask him if he makes that play 99 of 100 times, he probably says, "Yeah". But I'm telling you it was not routine.

It gave us an opportunity to come back and be in the ballgame. It was like, 'Yes,' and then a quick feeling of feeling bad for Tony because he's such a good friend. It will be a shame if all the Boston and Chicago newspapers say that Graffanino gave the ballgame away.

One play doesn't determine the outcome. And it didn't determine tonight's final outcome.

Aaron Rowand's diary appears as told to Scott Merkin, a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.